Towing of abandoned cars finally begins

New Orleans  Some 100,000 vehicles flooded in hurricanes Katrina and Rita still sit battered and muddy along the Gulf Coast. Monday was moving day as tow trucks began taking them away.

The cars, trucks and boats will be taken to staging areas, where owners will have 30 days to reclaim them. Unclaimed vehicles will be sold as scrap.

DRC Recovery Services, based in Mobile, Ala., has a $33.8 million government contract to do the work. Officials hope all the flooded vehicles can be removed from public rights of way by Aug. 30.

The operation culminates months of wrangling during which cost estimates varied widely and the state Senate conducted a hearing into an initial towing deal. That $62 million plan fell apart amid questions over the bidder's ability to perform the work and its financial solvency.